How Can We Stop Counterfeit Products?

The Issue with Counterfeit Products

Counterfeit products have been an issue for decades. However, in more recent years faked products have been on the rise, and we have technology to thank for that. Technology is a valuable necessity in today’s world, but that doesn’t mean it comes without its issues and setbacks – which includes the rise of counterfeits.

Technology makes it relatively easy for counterfeiters to make almost identical fake products to the originals. Not only that but they are able to make these fakes fast and can distribute them even faster. How? The Internet. From eBay to Amazon to Craigslist, counterfeit products are flooding the most popular online stores and third-party selling websites. With so many fake products produced, and faked well, paired with the vast world of online shopping and anonymity of sellers, we are facing a serious problem.

Why Make Fake Products?

Even worse is the fact that the people behind these fake products will likely never get caught and if they do, the consequences are minimal. According to Fortune.com, people can get into the counterfeit business for a very low cost and it’s a highly profitable business with only 1/10th of imports seized. There is lots of money to be made and little consequence of getting into the business makes it very appealing to many looking to make big bucks, quickly.

How Can Counterfeit Products be Stopped?

Trademark Products in China

With 84% of all counterfeit products being produced in China, we should start with protecting intellectual property within and from China. To do this, a brand must register their trademarks directly in China and their home country or any other country the product is sold in. without trademarking directly in China, one will have no rights over their products making it impossible to stop counterfeits. Additionally, once trademarked in China a brand can then register their product with Customs, which can aid the brand in stopping faked products from even leaving China.

Constant Monitoring

Although this may seem like an overwhelming chore, constant monitoring of English and Chinese sites for counterfeit products in an effective way to stop fake products. One can search for the name of the product and search the image, and often time loads of counterfeit products reveal themselves.

Follow Through and Legal Action

Once a brand finds their product is being produced in the counterfeit world, it is necessary to follow through and take legal action. For instance, the company could send a cease and desist letter or look into civil litigation. The sooner the process is started the better chance the brand has of filing and winning a lawsuit. Quick action is key to stopping counterfeit products.

Educate and Make the Consumer Aware of Fakes

One of the simplest, but most effective ways to help stop the counterfeit industry is for brands to educate their consumer. If the brand’s consumer base is well educated and highly aware that fake products are running wild on the Internet, the customer will be more cautious when buying the product. The brand should inform their customer through blogs, emails, social media, or a section on their website of the issue, where counterfeit products are often sold, what to look for the avoid counterfeit products, and what they should do if they come across a fake product.

Although this will not directly stop counterfeiters, if consumers stop buying fake products, the illegitimate company making the fake products will suffer, lose money, and eventually go out of business.

Risks of Self-driving Cars

A driverless car does not come without risks and concerns. When objects and systems become connected with the Internet and technology, it opens up the ability for hackers to gain access to such systems. If a hacker is able to gain access to a driverless car’s computing system, they may be able to gain control of driving the car, which is dangerous and unacceptable. Great strides must be made in the IoT and self-driving cars to prevent all possible attacks to the car’s computing systems before driverless cars can become a full reality.

There is also concern about how new driverless cars will react to traditionally driven cars when they are integrated on actual roads and are driven by hundreds of thousands of people. Not everyone will be able to willing to switch to driverless cars and it is unclear how traditional cars with human drivers will mesh together on the same roads.

Tesla’s Self-Driving Car

All cars now produced by Tesla have software available for fully self-driving capabilities. Their cars have 8 cameras that surround the entirety of the vehicle with a 360-degree view. The cameras can sense anything within 250 feet. Additionally, Tesla has added 12 ultrasonic sensors that detect soft and hard objects. According to Tesla, the “systems also feature A forward-facing radar with enhanced processing provides additional data about the world on a redundant wavelength, capable of seeing through heavy rain, fog, dust and even the car ahead.”

Although Tesla still has ways to go before they can make the software in their current cars fully accessible to the driver, they are well on their way to releasing this software sooner rather than later.